Trolley-retriever.



R. E. GEARHART.l

TRGLLEY RETRIEVER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 8, 1915.

19168962@ Patented Jan. 18, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

QIIIIIIII'IIIIQ Alllllll lim @EGW/1mi@ R. E. GEARHART.

TROLLEY RETRIEVER.

APrLlcATloN FILED MAY 8. 1915.

Patented J an. 18, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

THE cOLUMBlA PLANOGRIWH C0.. WASHlNG'roN, D. c'.

Nrrnn STATES .ar

ROY E. GEARHART, 0F MARYVILLE, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE.ASSIGrl\`lMEl\TTS,y TO MORE-JONES BRASS .AND-METAL COMPANY, CF ST.LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION 0F MISSOURI. f

TROLLEY-RETRIEVER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 18, 1916..

Application led May 8, 1915. Serial No. 26,733.

To aZZ whom it may concern Be it known that I, ROY E. GEARHART, acitizen of the United States, residing at Maryville, in the county ofNodaway and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Trolley-Retrievers, of which the following is aspecification. f f

This invention relates to trolley retrievers and is designed moreespecially as an improvement on an invention of the same nature on whichI filed application for patent October 29, 1914, Serial Number 869,162,my object being to :produce a trolley retriever more eiiicient inoperation and composed of fewer parts andk of more simple, durable andcompact construction thanthat forming the subject matter of saidaforesaid application.

vWith `this objectin view/the inventionv consists 1n certain novel andpeculiar feai tures of construction and combinations of parts ashereinafter described and claimed; and in order that it may be fullyunderstood reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings in whichV Figure 1, is a side elevation of a trolley retriever embodying myinvention. F ig; 2, is an enlarged plan view of the retriever, thetrolley pole being cut away. Fig. 3, is a rear view of Fig. 2. Fig. 4,is a central vertical longitudinal section of the retriever withy theparts in normal position in full lines and in tripped position in dottedlines. Fig. 5, is a similar View with the parts in the positions theyoccupy when the pole is dropped, said ligure also showing the dottedline position of the parts when the pole is drawn down to effect `therecocking of the trigger, preliminary to the relevation of the trolleywheel for operative engagement with the trolley wire.

Referring to the drawings in detail, 1 indicates a suitable base adaptedto be secured upon the top of a car, and pivoted upon said base forhorizontal movement is a bracket 2 provided at its rear end with a pairof oppositely-spaced upwardly-projecting ears 3, and at its front endwith an upwardly-projectingabutment 4 provided with a slot 5.

6 is a trolley pole of any suitable type, equipped at its upper endwithy a harp 7, carrying the usual trolley wheel 8, and 9 is thecustomary rope, whereby the conductor of a wheel leaves the same.

car manipulates the pole when necessary. The pole is secured at itslower end, as shown, or in any other suitable manner, lto a rock bar 10pivoted between its ends and preferably nearer its lower than its upperf endto and between the ears 3, and pivoted their rear ends to the iange13 of plate 12,

and mounted upon and connecting the opposite ends of said rods forwardof abutment 4 is a cross bar 15, the same being held in position by locknuts 16 engaging the rods and at opposite sides of bar 15.

Arranged longitudinally of and above the bracket 2 and the plate 12 is atrigger 17, the same being provided at its rear end with a longitudinalslot 18 engaging a bolt 19 carried by the upper end of the rock bar 10,the arrangement being such that the bolt 19 may play in the slot 18without affecting the trigger. f Near its front end the trigger isprovided with laterallyr projecting lugs or ears 20 through which rods14 slidinglyfextend, and between said rods the trigger is formed with aportion 2l which extends through slot 5 of the abutment 4 and isprovided with a forwardlyfacing shoulder 22 23ar on rods 14, and theears 20.

It will thus be seen that the pressure of said springs, through theresistance afforded by the abutment, through the instrumentality of thetrigger, exerts yielding pressure rearwardly on the lower end ofthe rockbar l0 for the purpose of holding the trolley wheel pressed upwardlyagainst the trolley wire, it being noted that at such time the bolt 19occupies an intermediate position in the slot 18 so that the pole isfree to follow variations in the height of the wire and'to springupwardly therefrom in the event the It being likewise noted that theconnection of plate 12 with the rock bar 10 below the pivotal pointthereof tends tolpress the front end of rods l tends to swing the frontend of the trigger upward. Y This rearward pull on the trigger`therefore cooperates with the springs when under tension, due to thepulling of the pole downward, in raising the front end of the rods andtrigger.

In practice the removal of resistance to upward movement of the polethrough the trolley wheel leaving the wire results in the tripping ofthe trigger through the force of gravity, and the consequent forwardmovement of tlietrig'ger in slot 5 to permit thepole to drop downuntilthe trolley wheel is below the level of the cross or span Wires,not shown, for supporting the trolley wire. To insure suchk tripping ofthe trigger the rock bar 10 is provided with a pair of arms 24 whichextend downwardly andforwardly and are adapted' when the trolley polejumps upwardl from thek wire to strike abutments of the platev 12, whichabutmentsarel preferably in the form of bolts 25, securedatthe desiredpoints of adjustment by lock nuts 26. Adjustment ofthese abutmentsprovides for effecting a positive trippingof the trigger at dilferentelevations of the trolley wheel.

Assuming that the parts are in4 normal position, as shown in Fig. 1, itwill be noticed that the-cross bar 15 is barely out of` Contact with thefront extremity of the trigger. If the wheel leaves the` wire the forceexerted by the springs 23, which are always under compression, throwsthe pole upward, whichmovement is attended by rearward movement of bar15 until the same engages the front extremity of the trigger. Theabutment of tliebar against the. said end of. the trigger under tlieimpetus. of

the pole in'its upward movement carries the bar and triggerimperceptibly rearward but ysuflicient to take the pressure of thetrolley wire and starts to drop downward I and in such movement ittransmits forward movementto the trigger through the instru-mentality ofplate 12and springs:23. y

trigger od thev abutment 4, so thatthetrigger, together with plate 1'2and the parts carried thereby arefree to drop downward until shoulder 22is below the. upper. end of the slot. By the time thetrigger is thustripped the pole has attained its limit of upward movement above thelevel of the When it attains the dropped position shown in Fig. 5 it isresisted-by the springs 28,' as at such time the bolt 19 exertsarearward pullfonyth'etrigger'y and the' lower end of the rock bar 10exerts al forward push on the Lplate 12. Becauser of these'. oppositeoperative relation to the trolley wire, the

conductor pulls downward on the rope. This rocks bar 10 and compressesthe springs because the rocking of said bar imparts rearward sli-dingmovement to the trigger until the shoulder 22 thereof again occupies a`vertical plane rearward of the abutment 4,. -further downwardu movementofthe pole .then through the cooperative pressure of springs 23 and thepull of the cross bar on tlie rear end of the trigger, causing theVfront end. of the latter to snap or spring upwardl -untfilY the.vshoulderA againv engages the abutment above theslot therein, as shownl iThe pole canthen be eased upward in the customary manner to elfect. theengagement of Y the trolleyywheel with the trolley wire, when theparts'will' again -be in the position shown in Figs.V 1 and 2.

f From the above description it lwillnbe kapparent-.that I have produceda trolley retriever embodying the features of advan..

tage enumerated as desirable in the state.-

ment of the object of the invention, and which is. susceptible ofmodification in form,

l proportiomdetail construction and-arrangement of partswithout'departingA from the principle-of construction involved orsacrilicing any of the advantages of the appended claims,

f I claim:

1. trolley retriever comprising,v -bracket provided witha slottedabutment,

a rock 'bar pivoted to the bracket rearward ofl the:I abutment, atrolley pole carried by A thefrock-bar, a'trigger havingv a pin andislot connection `at its rear end with the rock bar above vthe-pivotalpoint-thereof and extending. at its'frontend through the slot of saidabutment and provided near itsv frontend with. afshoulder, means for.yieldingly pressing the trigger forwardly to-hold its shoul-4 deragainst said abutment, and the trolley pole yieldingly elevated, andmeans movable rearwardlyV as they trolley pole swings upward, to applyrearward pressure on the trigger,-to trip the shoulderfthereof fromlengagement with thesaid abutment.

2. A- trolley retriever comprising a bracket provided with a slottedabutment, a rockbar pivoted to the bracket rearward of the abutment, atrolley pole carried by the rock: bar, a trigger having a pin and slotconnection at its rear end with the rock bar above tlie pivotal pointthereof and eX- tendingat its .frontend through the slotfof saidabutment and provided near its front end with a shoulder, means foryieldingly pressing the trigger forwardly to hold its shoulder againstsaid abutment, and the trolley pole yieldingly elevated, and meanswhereby upward movement of the pole beJ yond a predetermined point shallbe caused to impose downward pressure to eliect depression of the frontend of the trigger to tripped position.

3. A trolley retriever comprising a bracket provided with a slottedabutment, a rock bar pivoted to the bracket rearward of said abutment, atrigger having a pin and slot connection at its rear end with the rockbar above the pivotal point thereof and extending slidingly through theslot of the abutment and provided with a forwardlyfacing shoulder, aplate pivoted to the rock bar below the pivotal point of the same, rodsextending rearwardly from said plate and slidingly through the trigger,springs mounted upon said rods and exerting force against said plate andtrigger to hold the latter with its shoulder bearing against saidabutment, and a cross bar secured to said rods and adapted under slightrearward movement thereof to impose rearward pressure upon the triggerto remove the pressure of the shoulder thereof from said abutment andleave the trigger freer to drop downward and slide forwardly in saidslot.

4. A trolley retriever comprising a bracket provided with an abutment atits front end, provided with a slot, and a pair of upwardly-projectingears at its rear end, a rock bar pivoted between its ends to said ears,a trolley pole projecting rearwardly and upwardly from the rock bar, atrigger extending slidingly through the slot of the abutment and havinga pin and slot connection at its rear end with the upper end of the rockbar, and provided near its front end with a forwardly facing shoulderand with laterally projecting ears, a plate bracket provided with anabutnlent at its front end, provided with a slot and a pair ofupwardly-projecting ears at its rear end, a rock bar pivoted between itsends to said ears, a trolley pole projecting rearwardly and upwardlyfrom the rock bar, a trigger extending slidingly through the slot 0I theabutment and having a pin and slot connection at its rear end with theupper end of the rock bar, and provided near its front end with aforwardly facing shoulder and with laterally projecting ears, a platepivoted at its rear end to the rock bar below the pivotal point thereof,a pair of rods extending forward from the plate and through the ears ofsaid trigger and at opposite sides of said abutment, springs held underconipression upon said rods by and between said plate and said ears, across bar connecting said rods and disposed normally slightly out ofcontact with the front extremity of the trigger, an adjustable abutment,and an arm, one of said elements carried by said plate and the othermovable with said rock bar and adapted to contact to elfect positivetripping of the trigger from engagement with the abutment.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature in the presence of twowitnesses.

ROY E. GEARHART.

Witnesses:

H. C. RoDGERs, G. Y. THoRPE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

